International
In Venezuela, newspaper HQ handed to govt official

AFP
A Venezuelan court has officially handed over the headquarters of the newspaper El Nacional to Diosdado Cabello, widely seen as the government’s number-two man.
The move came as Cabello won a defamation lawsuit against this opposition daily.
“Ownership of the headquarters of El Nacional and the land on which it is built were directly awarded to Diosdado Cabello (…) in an irregular and clandestine judicial auction,” a statement from the newspaper said.
The newspaper said the auction was carried out without fair information exchanges or open bidding.
The headquarters of EL Nacional was seized in May.
In April, a Venezuelan court had sentenced the daily to pay $13.4 million for causing “serious moral damage” to Cabello, deputy and number two of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV).
The conviction is the legal follow-up to a complaint filed in 2015 by Cabello against El Nacional after it re-ran an article from the Spanish newspaper ABC which linked him to drug trafficking.
At the same time, he filed suits against ABC in Spain and The Wall Street Journal in the United States. Both of these complaints were dismissed.
After filing the complaint, the powerful leader issued several threats to the media outlet and promised to turn it into a university or use its land for the construction of popular housing.
“I don’t want any money for me,” Cabello had said.
The Inter-American Press Society (SIP) called it “the theft of the century of independent journalism”.
El Nacional, founded in 1943 by the Venezuelan writer Miguel Otero Silva, ceased circulation in print in December 2018, after 75 years of history, including two decades of opposition to the governments of Hugo Chavez (1999-2013) and his successor Nicolas Maduro.
More than a hundred media outlets have closed since Maduro came to power, according to the NGO Espacio Publico.
International
Erin brings strong winds and storm surge despite weakening offshore

Hurricane Erin weakened to a Category 2 storm on Tuesday but continues to pose a threat to parts of the U.S. East Coast with potentially dangerous flooding, according to meteorologists.
Although the hurricane’s eye is expected to remain offshore, experts are concerned about Erin’s size, as strong winds extend hundreds of kilometers beyond the storm’s center.
In its 18:00 GMT bulletin, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) lifted tropical storm warnings for the Bahamasand Turks and Caicos Islands, but kept them in effect for parts of North Carolina.
Erin was located several hundred kilometers southeast of North Carolina and was moving northwestward.
“This means there is a risk of potentially life-threatening flooding of 60 to 120 centimeters above ground level,” said NHC Director Michael Brennan.
He also warned of the possibility of destructive waves, combined with storm surge, that could cause severe damage to beaches and coastal areas, making roads impassable.
International
Three U.S. Warships deploy near Venezuela to combat drug trafficking

Three U.S. naval vessels are moving toward the coasts of Venezuela, according to international media reports on Tuesday, after White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt confirmed that President Donald Trump is ready to combat and curb international drug trafficking.
Reports indicate that the ships will reach Venezuelan waters within the next 36 hours as part of a recent U.S. deployment aimed at countering international narcotics operations.
The announcement coincides with Leavitt’s statement that Trump is prepared to “use the full extent of his power” to halt drug flows into the United States. The naval deployment involves approximately 4,000 military personnel.
“The President has been clear and consistent. He is ready to use every element of U.S. power to prevent drugs from flooding our country and to bring those responsible to justice. The Maduro regime is not the legitimate government of Venezuela—it is a narco-terror cartel,” the spokesperson said during a press conference.
International
Cuban authorities free salvadoran convicted in 1997 hotel bombing

Salvadoran national Otto René Rodríguez Llerena was released after serving a 30-year prison sentence for his involvement in a terrorist attack at a hotel in Cuba in 1997, the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported.
During his trial, Rodríguez Llerena admitted to placing an explosive device at the Meliá Cohiba Hotel under the orders of anti-Castro exile leaders. He was arrested the following year when he returned to Havana with another load of explosives that failed to detonate.
“The Cuban government reiterates its commitment to combating terrorism, respecting human rights, and the need for the international community to hold accountable those who promote such acts,” the statement read.
He was released on August 15 and is the second Salvadoran to complete his sentence. In December of last year, another Salvadoran, Ernesto Cruz León, was released after planting bombs at tourist centers, one of which killed an Italian tourist identified as Fabio Di Celmo.
A third Salvadoran, Francisco Chávez Abarca, also received a 30-year sentence from Cuban courts in 2010 after being extradited from Venezuela through Interpol for actions against Cuba.
Rodríguez Llerena had requested conditional release in 2016, arguing that his actions had not caused any direct fatalities, but no further information was released about his situation until now.
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